How much RAM is enough and how does it affect computer speed ?
The amount of ram or operating memory, does indeed make an overall difference, running XP, Vista or 7 with 1gb ram and then Increasing to 3gb, does make a big difference.
The page file will be more efficient so the more applications you use at once the more noticeable the extra memory will be.
Its worth noting if you are running a 32bit version of Windows then 3.5gb of RAM is the maximum amount it will support, any more is just a waste.
Just how much RAM is enough ?
For Windows XP 512mb, Vista or Windows 7, 1gb minimum, but the ideal amount of ram is around 3gb, if your thinking well my laptop runs ok with the lowest recommended amount of ram, imagine how well it would run with 2gb or more !!
Hard Drive Speed and Size
The laptop hard drive speed is not something that’s really considered when most people buy a new laptop, but it is one of the most used components in a laptop and yet one of the most overlooked. Just because a laptop comes with a 60 or 80gb hard drive does not mean this is going to be fast if it’s let down by the hard drive speed.
For Laptop hard drive performance there are 3 really important things to consider in regard to hard drive speed , the first being the RPM or spindle speed, the choices are 4200 , 5400, 7200, or solid state or hybrid drives which offer the best of both worlds.
The next thing to consider is the cache , the more the cache the faster repetitive tasks will be, at present the slowest have about 2mb , most have 8mb and some have 16mb or more, which really helps performance. The last thing to look at is the data transfer rate, here we have ATA & SATA drives which are currently the fastest hard drive type, although with solid state drives on the horizon they could be outdated in the next few years.
Amount of PCMCIA & USB Ports
Depending on what you need to plug into your laptop , decides on the kind of ports you need. PCMCIA Ports are the long thin slots on the side of laptops, PCMCIA cards are usually modems or Network cars or even Hard disks, to today though PCMCIA ports are not used so much, as USB ports have become the norm.
The next type are USB ports , pretty much every conceivable computer peripheral comes with a USB port interface type today, be it scanner, external CD/DVD drives, Printer, Hard disks, Mice, Keyboards, MP3 Players You can buy an external USB hub that converts one USB port into 4 , but this means it’s something you have to plug in whenever you wish to use a number of USB devices, it’s far better to look for a Laptop that has around 4 USB ports built in.
Another point about USB, it comes in two types USB1 and USB2, USB1 is slower much slower, about nine times slower than USB2, so make sure that the laptop has USB 2 ports.
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